When Two Wrongs Make a Right
by pen.to.the.stars
Summary: Sirius sat up, and Lyra was relieved to see that he was at least clothed below the waist. -"It was between leaving you there and giving you a bed to sleep in before the exam today," he said in the same hushed tone she had used. -"So you chose yours? !"
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello, hello! Welcome to yet another Sirius/OC story. Just the thought of you clicking on this makes me exceptionally happy. I originally posted this without any sort of commentary outside of the story itself, but I was starting to feel disconnected from you and the lovely community, so alas. (Disclaimer: JK's creations belong JK).**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Lyra was relaxing in one of the cushioned armchairs in the Gryffindor Common room enjoying the fire. The week had dragged on and the days felt like they were slowly getting longer even as winter approached. Luckily it was Friday and she was able to shut her mind off if only for a few hours. The entire population of students around her seemed to have the same idea. The room had a slight hum of light conversations with the occasional laugh or a groan in defeat of a Wizards' Chess game.

The portrait hole opened, and Remus Lupin walked in and looked around. His eyes passed over Lyra in the same manner in which they would have passed over a tiny flower in a massive garden. He joined his friends James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, who were lounging on the couch. Lyra watched them for a minute. James, always joking around and very rarely serious. Speaking of, Sirius: laid-back, rebellious, and attractive- a trait he shared with James and Remus. Of course, Remus was the one who held the four of them together with his problem solving; he was clever enough to be in Ravenclaw. Peter always seemed to be the odd one out; he was treated like their friend, but never completely included as he trailed after them.

The past six years Lyra had observed and studied. Seventh year was going to be different. She was going to experience. After all, she only had the rest of this year to enjoy Hogwarts, and she was going to go out with a bang.

"Lyra!" Lily called as she walked into the Common room from the portrait hole.

"Lily!" Lyra mimicked her best friend with a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James turn his head in Lily's direction. "Guess who's staring at you... again."

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I don't know what his problem is. For _five years_ I have told him there isn't a chance."

"Come on, Lils, he can't help being totally in love with you," Lyra teased.

"If he was in love with me, he would make an effort to not be an arrogant prat all the time, now wouldn't he?"

"I don't know, some might find it endearing," Lyra laughed.

"So, the reason I was looking for you..." Lily changed the subject, "Have you started that Transfiguration essay yet?"

"It's six o'clock on a Friday night. What do you think?"

"Alright, fair enough. But I have a few questions that I need answered now if I'm going to start it tomorrow morning."

"Well, if you need help, there are only so many people to turn to," Lyra said with a pointed look toward the four boys on the couch.

Lily sighed. "Come on, then."

"I don't think so. I'm quite comfortable here, thanks," Lyra said, flashing a grin.

"Either you come with me or I call them over here."

"You wouldn't dare. You're too polite," Lyra retorted, though she looked a little apprehensive.

It wasn't that Lyra was afraid of them, per say. She just knew they could all be friendly when they wanted to, but James and Sirius especially tended to interact with outsiders somewhat harshly.

"You wanna bet?" Lily raised her brow.

"Fine," Lyra grumbled and stood from her seat.

Lily walked toward the boys with Lyra close on her heel. Once they reached the four, Peter looked up and stared. James, who was in the middle of a sentence, did a double-take.

"Lily! What brings you over here?" James asked eagerly.

"Remus," came the casual reply from Lily, to which James blanched.

"Transfiguration essay," Lyra said by means of an explanation.

"Of course. What exactly do you need to know?" Remus asked Lily as he removed himself from the couch. The two walked off to a table nearer the edge of the room.

Lyra stood rocking onto her heels, wondering what she was supposed to do.

"Lyra, so nice to see you," Sirius said in an overdramatic voice.

"Likewise," she responded plainly.

"What do you want?" James asked, sounding like a little kid who didn't get his way.

"Just because Lily didn't come over to talk to you, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me," Lyra told him. To this, James looked slightly ashamed and cast his gaze downward.

This was pretty much how all of Lyra's interactions with these boys went. James was resentful toward any girl that wouldn't help with him get Lily, Sirius was outgoing and flirty toward any girl at all, and Peter really didn't say much... She didn't get much of a chance to interact with Remus, probably because he was always studying as he was currently with Lily.

"Anyway, as much fun as this is... if Lily comes back, tell her I went to our dorm, would you?" Lyra broke the awkward silence.

"Will do," said James, ever ready to communicate with Lily.

"Always a pleasure," Sirius said mechanically as Lyra strolled away. She raised a lazy hand in response.

Once safely in her dorm, Lyra flung herself onto her bed, face first. Rolling over, she let out a tired groan. She planned to lie here until dinner, eat, and then return to this exact position. She was so comfortable...

Lyra awoke to the sound of light snoring in complete darkness. She sat up and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Looking around, she saw that all of her roommates were fast asleep. Her stomach growled. _Slept through dinner_ , she thought, _no point going back to sleep now… may as well be productive about it_. Reaching beside her bed, Lyra felt around for her Transfiguration book. Once that was located, she picked up some parchment, a quill, and ink to start her essay.

She stood up as quietly as she could and silently exited the room. As Lyra arrived in the Common room, she expected to find it empty. She was surprised to find James and Sirius on the same couch she had last left them. Lyra walked over to a chair across from them and sat down.

"Do you two never leave this couch or something?" She gave a small smile.

"Coming from the girl who spent the past," James stopped to count, "six hours in her dorm."

"Hey, I fell asleep. Missed dinner too." As if crying out an affirmation, her stomach then rumbled loudly.

"Too bad. It was quite good," Sirius told her with a smirk plastered on his face.

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Why up so late?" Irritation was evident in her voice.

"Trying to enjoy the roaring fire in peace, but I guess now that you're here it won't be silent-"

Lyra cut James off by saying, "Well, you won't have to worry about me bothering you. I'm only here to work on my Transfiguration essay in good lighting. Of course, that depends on whether or not I can figure out how to do it. Probably should have listened to Remus and Lily's conversation earlier..." Her stomach groaned again.

"Just try to keep it down," James responded pompously.

"Whatever."

Turning her attention to her essay, Lyra realized she actual would need an enormous amount of help. Either that or she could wing it and ask Lily to correct it later. Since Lily correcting usually meant rewriting it to make it much better, Lyra decided to go with winging it. The essay was on a new type of conjuring spell the class was learning. Lyra could only conjure items a little more than half the time, so she had no idea how to write about it. She figured they couldn't all be that different from each other, so maybe... Lyra's concentration was broken by a stomach growl.

"Are you really that hungry?" Sirius laughed.

Lyra looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I haven't eaten since lunch. I'm starving."

"Do you want me to get you something?"

"You don't have TO DO THAT," Lyra answered loudly, trying to cover up the noises of her empty stomach.

"Alright, I'm not just going to let you sit there. You sound like you're in pain," he said with a grin.

"Come on, don't leave me here alone. With her," James whined, glancing at Lyra.

"Then by all means: you go," Sirius deadpanned.

"And if I don't go, you will?"

"Yep."

James stood and walked to the portrait hole. He then turned to Lyra and said, "I'd ask what you want, but I don't particularly care." With that he climbed through the portrait hole and out of sight.

"What's his problem anyway?" Lyra asked once he was out of sight.

"Ah, don't mind him. He's just been especially sensitive about Evans lately, and seeing you – her best friend – just reminds him of what he can't have," Sirius responded with a shrug.

"Maybe he'd have a chance if he weren't so moody. Lily's got enough of a temper for the both of them. Anyway, where's he going? The Great Hall won't have food anymore." Lyra looked to Sirius with a confused expression upon her face.

"To the kitchens. This isn't the first late night food run we've had," Sirius informed her.

"And you haven't ever been caught?"

Sirius smiled, and there was a certain glint in his eye. "We've practically got a marauder's map of this place. Getting caught hasn't been an issue since first year."

"I sometimes wonder just how much you guys know about that the rest of us are blissfully unaware of... Like where the kitchens are. I'm sure most of the staff doesn't know that."

"Well, if you ever figure out even one of our secrets, I'll personally carry your books around for a week," Sirius told her, a bit of a cocky smile playing on his lips.

"I accept your challenge," Lyra replied with a smile of her own. She held out her hand and Sirius shook it. "In the meanwhile, I really need to figure out how to write this bloody essay."

"What subject?"

"Transfiguration," Lyra groaned. "It's got to be the only subject I've never been any good at. How I ended up in the NEWT class, I'll never know."

"The key to Transfiguration is not to overthink it. Just focus on the action you want performed, and it'll happen. As for this particular essay, just write down the history of the spell and the mechanics. Nothing too hard, and most of it ought to be in the book," Sirius said completely casually.

"When did you get so smart?"

"I've always been smart, love. Just never been one for showing it off."

For another twenty minutes, Lyra asked for information and Sirius gave it to her. By the time James came back in with a basket filled over the brim with food, she had all she needed to write her essay the next chance she got.

"Now what are you prepared to give me for these delicacies? I've got steak and kidney pie, butter beer, and éclairs," James said to Lyra as he strutted to the couch and sat lazily upon it.

"What? You went to get food specifically for me! You can't just deny it to me," Lyra exclaimed.

"Oh, but I believe I can," James retorted, wrapping his arms protectively around the basket in question.

"Sirius, do something," Lyra pleaded.

"I'm afraid it's too entertaining watching you both. Not to mention, I'm waiting for the moment you'll snap and attack him. Because I _know_ it's coming." Sirius grinned.

James deliberated a moment before thrusting the food basket into Lyra's lap, scooted over a bit, and crossed his arms. Lyra smiled in triumph at her victory. Sirius caught her eye and winked, at which her grin turned to a smirk.

"Thank you, James," Lyra said in a voice completely sugar-coated.

She reached in the basket and pulled out three butter beers. After passing one each to Sirius and James, she broke into the steak and kidney pie. The second the food hit her taste buds, she sighed in content; she then continued to shovel the food into her mouth at a pace rivaled only by a homeless and starving man. Lyra looked up and saw both James and Sirius staring at her with matching looks of disbelief.

"I'm slightly horrified," James said.

"I don't think I've ever met a girl with that much of an appetite," Sirius added.

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Sure you have. We all eat much more than you think. Most girls just put on a polite show in public so you'll think better of them."

"Why would we care how much you eat? If Evans were to scarf down an entire roast pig, James would probably just become more obsessed," Sirius said in confusion.

" _I_ know that. Why do you think I eat like I haven't seen food in years? But try telling other girls that guys couldn't care less about anything but the level of attraction," Lyra said honestly with a shrug.

"I resent that," Sirius said in defense. He sounded kind of angry, but Lyra could see the corners of his lips were turned up.

"So do I. I am not _obsessed_ with Lily. She's just the reason I wake up in the morning." The voice with which James said this was completely somber.

It may have been James' expression or it may have been the late hour. It may even have been a combination of the two, but after a split second of complete silence apart from the crackling of the fire, Lyra and Sirius shared a glance. They then looked back at James, and broke down in fits of laughter at his expense.

* * *

The next morning, Lyra woke up after a couple extra hours of sleep. She felt quite refreshed, though she wasn't hungry enough to eat much breakfast. Still, when Lily asked if she was ready to go to the Great Hall, she answered that indeed she was.

"You must have been exhausted to have slept since yesterday evening," Lily observed.

"Actually I woke up in the middle of the night and did some work on that Transfiguration essay. Let me know when you're going to write yours, by the way, we can do it together."

"Will do," Lily agreed. "Aren't you going to have more than that piece of toast? You missed dinner last night; I would've woken you, but you looked so peaceful."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I had something when I woke up the first time." She was purposefully dancing around the subject of her time with Sirius and James especially, as he was a sore subject with Lily. She hoped Lily would forget the subject and not ask where she'd gotten the food.

"How'd you get it? We don't have anything to eat in our dorm, do we? If you have a secret stash, I won't tell the other girls." Lily furrowed her eyebrows, never one to let a detail drop.

"Oh, no, I don't have anything. Someone in the Common room just had resources," Lyra shrugged it off, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"...Resources?" Suddenly a light seemed to go off above Lily's head. "It was Potter, wasn't it?"

"How can you know that? I swear, Lily, sometimes you're too brilliant for your own good."

"Why would you ever willingly take anything from him? It could've been poisoned. Maybe it _was_ poisoned! Are you feeling feverish?" Lily started frantically. She reached the back of her hand toward Lyra's forehead before Lyra lightly slapped it away.

"Lily, calm down. He may be immature, but he's not a felon," Lyra laughed.

"I'm sorry. You're my best friend and I want to make sure nothing happens to you. Particularly not at the hands of James Potter," she said sincerely.

"Did someone say my name?" James sat down across the table from Lily and Lyra. His three friends followed suit.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily sighed.

"You're the one who was talking about me," he stated with an innocent expression.

"I'm allowing you five seconds to give me a reason to associate with you before I get up and walk away," Lily said icily.

"You can't be serious-"

"Three."

"Lily, wait a minute!"

Lily then stood up and asked Lyra, "Care to join me?"

"I'll catch up, okay?" Lyra answered.

Lily nodded and walked briskly toward the entrance to the Great Hall and around the corner.

Lyra faced James. "You're an idiot."

"What are you even still doing here?" James returned with a glare. By this point, Remus and Peter were having their own conversation, and Sirius was vaguely paying attention to James and Lyra as his eyes wandered the room aimlessly.

"I wanted to thank you," Lyra told James. At his confused expression, she continued, "For last night? The whole food thing. You as well, Sirius." His eyes travelled to her. "I'm almost positive this will be the only Transfiguration assignment I will get an actually good grade on. I'm close to asking for regular tutoring sessions. As much as Lily knows, Transfiguration isn't her strong point."

"I'll tutor you," James said quickly.

"Huh?" Lyra asked.

"Once a week. We can meet in the library for an hour, and I'll help you," he said, trying to convince her.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. Lily already came close to a panic attack when I told her I had taken food from you. Imagine what she would do it she found out I was spending an hour with you at a time."

"Then don't tell her. No, listen to this. Don't tell her for a few weeks, and then when you do, she'll realize I'm to be trusted with anything, or anyone, in this case. And as an added bonus, every time I help you, you will in turn help her, so every time I help you, I'll really be helping her. It's perfect!" James argued his case.

"Did that make any sense to you?" Lyra asked Sirius.

"I've learned to just smile and nod whenever he makes an attempt at using logic," he replied with a smirk.

"Please? Just give me a chance," James begged.

The look of vulnerability in his eye is what caused Lyra to cave in. "Only because we really need the extra help."

"Yes! Thank you, Lyra!" James' face lit up like Christmas had come early. "You have no idea how many months this puts me ahead in my plan..." He paused. "Er, forget I said that. A strategically thought through method of winning Lily's love would be childish..." James muttered awkwardly.

Lyra gave him a look as if he were mentally unstable before deciding to let the unusual comment slide. "Right... So when do you want to do it?"

"How's Thursday? At eight?" James asked as though he had a completely full schedule.

"That's fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Lily. And not a word about this to her, got it?" Lyra said while standing.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good. See you Thursday. Besides class, that is..." Lyra said before exiting the Great Hall.

* * *

Lyra spent the rest of the day lounging, writing essays, and studying. She found that Transfiguration was truly the only class she had trouble with. That was once of the many similarities between Lily and herself.

"He's just so infuriating!" Lily cried, breaking the silence. The two girls had been working on Potions homework before Lily's outburst.

Lyra immediately knew that Lily was thinking of James. "You know, for someone who you hate so much, you sure talk about him a lot," Lyra said with a smirk.

"Oh, be quiet. I wish I could completely erase him from my mind, believe me. I probably could too, if it weren't for the fact that whenever I need help with Transfiguration, the only person I can ask is one of his best mates." Lily was clearly aggravated.

"Why not just ask McGonagall herself?" Lyra asked, though she was already almost sure of the answer. Lily didn't want any of the teachers to think she was anything less than extraordinary. She had been that way ever since she was first teased for being Muggle-born.

"I can't do that. She'll just treat me like an ignorant child," Lily sighed. "Though I suppose getting help from Remus isn't that bad, it's not like it's Potter tutoring me or anything."

"Oh... yeah, tell me about it. That would be awful," Lyra rubbed the back of her neck in guilt.

"Is your neck alright?"

"It's fine. I just, er, slept on it wrong is all," Lyra replied quickly.

Lily shrugged it off and went back to listing potion ingredients on her parchment.

Lyra looked back down at her assignment as well, feeling bad about not telling Lily about her plans with James. _I'm sure she wouldn't mind_ , Lyra tried to reassure herself. It was different than if Lily was being tutored by James. Lily wouldn't need to get anywhere near James, and she would still have a source of information if she needed it. It was perfect. At least Lyra hoped it would be.

* * *

 **A/N: It's off to a rocky start, I know. These first couple of chapter were written years ago, and I know I've improved since then. Review, follow, fave. xx**


	2. Chapter 2

One afternoon in late autumn, Lyra found herself eating lunch with her other roommates, Marlene McKinnon and Emmeline Vance. Both were sweet girls, and Lyra had grown quite close to them during her years at Hogwarts. Marlene was a bubbly blonde from a pureblood family, always ready to lend a hand as that's what she had been taught was proper. Emmeline was a bit rougher around the edges. It took some work, but once Lyra had broken through her exterior, she had never been let down.

"I just don't see how Slughorn expects us to master, like, every potion in the book. It's the kind of skill you can't even learn. You just have to be able to do it, and I definitely can't," Marlene complained.

"It's such rubbish that all the good career paths make N.E.W.T. potions a requirement. I hate it. If I didn't wanna be an Auror, I would've run as fast as I could when McGonagall suggested taking it," Emmeline added.

"I don't know, it's not that bad," Lyra said, "it's Transfiguration I can't seem to ever get right."

"Are you kidding? Recently you've seemed to be getting way better. Even McGonagall's noticed," Emmeline told her.

"Yeah. Seriously, how have you been improving so much? And you've been teaching Lily. She told me the other day that she hasn't had to ask Lupin for help in weeks," Marlene asked.

"I bet she's happy about that. Not having to spend any time around Potter," Lyra said, trying to change the subject to one other than her secret tutoring from James.

"You got that right. Though, I don't see why she's so against giving the bloke a chance. All's he's ever done is pine after her. It's really kinda sweet," Marlene mentioned with a small smile.

Emmeline laughed. "A little jealous, there, Marlene?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's been years. She ought to just give the guy a chance," Marlene answered with a shrug.

A few seconds later, Lily took a seat beside Emmeline. "Hey, guys. What's the newest rumour on the gossip mill?" she asked while grabbing an apple from the basket in the center of the table.

"We were just saying how it's a shame all of Potter's efforts to win you over have gone to waste," Emmeline stately plainly, ignoring the warning glances of Marlene and Lyra.

Lily stared at the three other girls. "You can't be serious. That boy is a toerag. I wouldn't wish him on my worst enemy. Merlin knows I'll never get a chance to. He still follows my every move like a lost Pygmy Puff. And not even a cute one!"

"I don't think he's too bad," Marlene shrugged.

"I think it's the hair," Emmeline added.

Marlene nodded her head. "It must be, right? Though the height doesn't hurt – "

"Bloody hell! Can we please stop this conversation, now?" Lily pleaded.

"Don't worry, Lily, he's only got eyes for you," Lyra said, trying to hold in her smile. It didn't last very long, and soon she was laughing. The other girls right behind her without a second thought.

They laughed all the way to their next class, which happened to be Potions with Slughorn. When they arrived, they found the only other people there were their fellow Gryffindors, the Marauders. This was unusual, as they had the class with members of every house, and the Marauders were never known to be the first ones in any classroom.

"Good afternoon, ladies," James greeted them upon their entrance.

"Hey, Potter. Others," Emmeline said while she walked to her usual station, which she shared with Marlene.

"How is it, boys?" Marlene asked, following Emmeline.

"Much better with you here, Miss McKinnon," Sirius answered with a sly smile.

Lyra gave them a small wave while Lily completely ignored James. Nothing new.

When the two girls reached their shared station, Lyra glanced over to where Marlene and Emmeline were. Sirius had at some point made his way to them, and was now leaning on Marlene's desk making his bedroom eyes. Lyra rolled her own and looked at her text book in front of her, keeping her head down as she flipped aimlessly through the pages. She didn't see how anyone could be interested in someone like him. Sure, he had good looks, and yeah, he was pretty smart. But, really, his reputation ruined all that. He was, first and foremost, a notorious womanizer. He hadn't been in any relationship that had lasted more than a month or two at most, and he'd had plenty of them. Still, girls didn't seem to be able to see past those stormy grey eyes and soft black locks.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the students entered the classroom, and Sirius was forced to return to his seat next to James.

"Welcome, class, welcome! Today we will be learning to glorious of art of…" Slughorn began.

Lyra had his voice drowned out in record time as she began to think about her own love life, or lask thereof. The last boyfriend she'd had was a timid little Ravenclaw at the beginning of sixth year. He was nice, but the only thing that excited with was his studies, and Lyra never felt like she was getting anything out of the relationship – apart from a little tutoring in her classes. What Lyra really wanted was excitement, and up until this year she'd been afraid to get it. But now it was first on her list of what was going to chance for her final year at Hogwarts.

Once class was over, Lily needed to get a few notes she'd missed from Remus, so Lyra went with her to where they were packing up their things. It was customary Lyra to keep James away from Lily whenever she needed to speak with Remus. At first, Lily would ask her as a favour, but after a few times it was second nature to Lyra.

"Hey," she said as she approached.

"You don't have to keep distracting me from Lily, you know. I can stay away from her myself," James told her, slowly collecting all his parchment.

Lyra looked bashful. "So you caught on to that, did you?"

James gave a dry laugh and didn't say anything.

"You coming or what, mate?" Sirius yelled from the door. He was standing at the door with Peter, waiting.

James looked up toward Sirius. "Yeah, just a mo." He glanced at Lyra before picking up his bag. "I'll see you around, Lyra."

"We're still on for Thursday, right?" Lyra asked him in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course," he answered with a small smile before turning toward the door.

Lyra heaved a sigh before turning to Lily, who was just waving good-bye to Remus.

"Ready?" she asked Lyra, nodding toward the door. "If we hurry, I think we can catch Marlene and Emmeline. You know how slow they can be when they've got something to talk about. Did you see the way Black was acting with Marlene? Looks like he's got a new target."

Lyra scowled. "Disgusting, wasn't it?"

Lily laughed at her friend. "Careful, Ly-ly, someone might think you," she sang, "were jealous."

"Real cute, Lily," she said with a grimace that made Lily snicker again. "And don't call me 'Ly-ly' unless you want your nickname from third year to make a comeback."

Lily's expression mirrored Lyra's at the thought of the dreaded 'Lilykins' that had been ever so popular years ago. "Alright, fine. But we really do need a nickname for you. 'Ly' makes me feel like I'm accusing you of false claims or something. I know it's been six years, and if a good one were going to come along naturally, it would have, but still."

"Whatever you say, Lily. Whatever you say."

* * *

"I'm here! I'm here!" James said as he slid into the chair across the table from Lyra one Thursday night a few days later. Often times he was late for their meetings, so whenever he arrived by eight, he was quite proud of himself. Lyra always enjoyed the big deal he made over it.

"Congrats. You've managed to remember the time we've been meeting for over a month. I really don't know how you do it," Lyra teased as she opened her textbook to the spot they had left off the last time.

"Watch it or I'll stop showing up," James responded with a pointed finger.

Lyra let out a short laugh. "Please. Then where would your non-existent relationship with Lily be? Face it, Potter, you need me more than your hair needs a comb."

"If that's the case, then I don't need you in the least," James said, protectively stroking his hair as if it were his child.

"I hate to break it to you, Prongs, but she's right, I'm afraid," said a voice from behind Lyra. Upon turning, she found Remus walking toward the table. He placed a comforting hand on James' arm as he sat down at the table. James swatted the arm away.

Lyra smiled and shook her head at their antics. "Hey, Remus. Here to give James your homework so he won't have to do it himself?"

"Actually, our cheating sessions are _Tuesday_ nights. Today I'm essentially here to work," he answered. True to his word, in his arms he held an Advanced Potions book.

"Join us," Lyra swept her arm lavishly in the direction of an unoccupied chair. As Remus took a seat, she asked him, "What do you mean by _essentially_?"

Remus opened his Potions book, took out a roll of parchment, and prepared a quill before he turned his attention back to Lyra to address her question. He glanced around before leaning forward and saying in a low, but enthused voice, "Well, don't tell anyone, but I may have overheard a few of the professors discussing a new addition to the library in the form of a five volume – "

"We've heard enough, Moony," James interrupted, "It sounds undeniably fascinating."

Remus rolled his eyes. "It really is a shame you are so incapable of appreciating some of the finer aspects of life, James. Not everyone is so inspired by Dungbombs and Pumpkin Pasties."

James brushed him off easily. "Whatever you say, mate. Now, Lyra," he said, turning to the girl herself, "where was it we left off last week?"

Lyra was quite impressed with the dedication James was showing toward these tutoring sessions. She had expected him to either forget about them or show up to the first one before growing bored and giving up. Instead, James had stayed faithful and in turn, Lyra's marks were already improving, and she was able to give Lily the extra bit of help she refused to admit she needed. Lyra had even managed to keep her best friend in the dark about the whole situation. She merely told Lily she was needed a distraction-free time to study once a week, which explained why her knowledge of Transfiguration was improving, and – more importantly – why Lily could not, under any circumstances, enter the library on Thursday nights after dinner.

After about an hour of relentless studying with James, while Remus snooped around the library for the new books he had heard about, Lyra began to think she was finally getting the hang of the subject. It seemed James agreed, as he suddenly slammed the book they were looking at shut, narrowly missing the finger Lyra was aiming at a chunk of text, and gave a tremendously melodramatic sigh.

"James?" Lyra asked. He continued staring off with an absent look on his face. "James!" Lyra said a bit louder, nudging his arm.

James started. "Huh? What is it?"

"You're asking me? If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who just shut a book with an alarming amount of aggression before spacing out," said Lyra, not without a look of confusion upon her face.

"Did I? I'm sorry. It's just so hard to concentrate on teaching you when I've got something else completely occupying my mind," James said with yet another sigh.

"How can you be distracted? You literally just taught me an entire lesson with complete clarity! Don't tell me you're _that_ good at Transfiguration. What? Do you wake up in the middle of the night to find you've turned your blankets into pansies and roses in your sleep?" Lyra asked, astonished with his skill on the topic.

James just shrugged with eyes downcast.

"Alright. Tell me the problem," Lyra told him sternly, looking him right in the eye.

James instead found the quill sitting on the table top to be much more fascinating, and did not say a thing until Lyra uttered his name once more, sounding like a warning.

James sighed. "I just don't understand. I've tried so hard to earn Lily's affection, and she won't have any of it. I mean, I get she was upset about the Snivellus thing, but that was so long ago. She can't still be angry, can she?"

"Oh, James," Lyra cooed, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "You boys really don't know a thing, do you? All the effort is just what's wrong. At first it was charming, I'm sure, but after she told you 'no' several times, it lost its charm and just became a nuisance. She's just grown tired of your antics."

"But even when I merely make a comment to her, she completely brushes me off! Does she really hate me that much?" James replied hopelessly.

"No, no, no. Of course she doesn't hate you, love. To be honest, I think she's just grown so used to how she treats you that she doesn't even realize what she's doing. So used to your immaturity in the past, she hasn't even noticed how different you've become in the last year. I mean, Merlin knows you're still a handful at times, but compared to how you used to be…." Lyra explained to him.

"So you're saying she's so stuck in her attitude that there isn't even a chance anymore?" James asked. His eyes held such sadness that Lyra couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"James, can I ask you a serious question before I answer that?"

"Sure, I guess," James answered with a shrug.

"You've been after Lily for, what, five years now? In all that time, have you ever considered that it's not gonna work out? That maybe you two aren't as meant to be as you assume?" Lyra asked softly.

James shook his head slowly. "I know I come off a bit strong sometimes, and it's just because I have never had any doubt in my mind that Lily would one day realize how perfect we would be." He sighed and looked Lyra in the eye. "But now, talking to you, I'm starting to think that she won't realize until it's too late."

Lyra looked at James for a moment. She hadn't noticed how much he'd matured lately. Never had she thought she'd be sitting, in a library of all places, having a serious conversation with James Potter. Over the time she'd spent with him, she'd gotten to know him, and he really wasn't as bad as she'd always thought. He had a good heart, and, in all honesty, he was rather funny.

"You just have to let Lily see how different you've become. It's simple, I promise," Lyra told him earnestly.

"How do I go about doing that? What's going to change her mind about me now?"

"For starters, treat her like a normal girl. Don't act like you're all in love with her and creep her out. I'd even go as far as telling you to ignore her altogether. Not to the point that she's offended or hurt, but enough that she notices. And you could always stop hexing the Slytherins every chance you get. And, while we're at it, enough with acting like a smart-arse in class. And – " Lyra began.

"Okay, okay! I get it. Act boring. Like some Ravenclaw… or Remus," James sighed.

"Did I hear my name?" asked Remus, finally returning to the table with his arms full of books. "What're you two on about over here? Studied-out already?"

"Lyra's just been giving me advice on how to win Lily's heart once and for all," James informed him in a business-like tone.

Remus glanced at Lyra with a quick raise of the brow before turning to back to James, with an encouraging smile. "That's really great, Prongs. I'm glad to hear it. What's the plan?"

"All I have to do is act more mature and dull… sort of like you," he said to Remus with a grin. He then turned to Lyra. "And I was sort of hoping _you'd_ have a quick word with her. Just a nudge in the right direction, you know? That direction, of course, being me."

"James… I really don't know. Lily absolutely hates when anyone tries to get her to do something she doesn't want to do, and I'm not too keen on the idea of getting on her bad side. I really think it'd be enough for her to just see it in you without my interference," Lyra said to the desperate boy.

On one hand, Lyra would love to see James and Lily finally together. She was really growing fond of him and Remus, and she wanted to stop sneaking around to be able to spend time with the both of them. If she convinced Lily of how much James had changed, maybe they could all be mates and her life would be a lot easier.

On the other, Lyra had had her fair share of being at the receiving end of Lily's temper. For years people like James, Remus, and Sirius had been trying to convince her to give James a chance. Recently, even Marlene and Emmeline were on her case, and she wasn't having any of it anymore. One word from Lyra on the matter, and Lily might just loose it, ruining the entire operation altogether.

James brought Lyra back out of her inner debate, "Come on, Lyra, what do you say?"


	3. Chapter 3

"James, I'm sorry. I really am, but I can't. There just isn't anything for me to do. You've got to work this one out on your own. I can't get involved," Lyra told him.

James looked at her for a moment, looking hurt. Then, he sighed. "I understand. I mean, I guess if it were the other way around – if it were some girl I hardly knew – I'd want to get to know her myself."

"Thank you."

"But, I mean, I'm sure I'd appreciate a tip from a close friend," he tried one more time, looking hopeful.

"No, James," Lyra told him, as if scolding a child.

"Fine, fine, " James said, holding up his hands in surrender. "But I think that's all the studying we're gonna get done tonight. Go ahead to the common room, and we'll be right behind. A safe distance, as usual."

"You're sure you're not mad? I don't know if I could live with myself if you were mad." At his nod of assurance, Lyra went on to say, "Then I'll be seeing you. Goodnight, James. 'Night, Remus."

"Goodnight, Lyra," they chorused.

"And thanks," added James.

With one last smile, Lyra headed out of the library and up to Gryffindor tower.

On her way to the Common room, Lyra couldn't help but feel bad about letting James down. She didn't regret her choice of not telling Lily, as that would've only made this whole thing more complicated. She really believed James might just have a chance if Lily just took the time to notice how different he had become. However, she also knew that Lily could not be forced to change an opinion. The moment Lyra tried to tell her what to think about James, she would think the exact opposite. All James had to do was follow Lyra's advice, and his wildest dream would finally come true.

When she got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lyra said, "Marmalade."

"No, no, dear. The password's changed," said the Fat Lady condescendingly.

"Bollocks. Why didn't anyone tell me?" Lyra said to herself. She then asked the Fat Lady, "Can't you just let me in? I've been going in and out of this portrait hole for over six years!"

"I'm sorry, but it's strictly against my orders. You could very well be an imposter," she answered plainly.

"An imposter that knows the password from this morning?" Lyra yelled in frustration. "Ugh, forget it. I'll just sit here until someone else wanders up." Lyra slumped down against the wall a few feet from the portrait, too angry to be near it. She was only there a minute or so before she heard someone coming down the corridor. She looked up to see Sirius.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he chuckled. "Get yourself locked out? You know, you have to actually memorize the password or else there's no point."

"Har har. It wouldn't have been a problem if this bloody password didn't just change at random times," Lyra snapped as she stood. "Can you just let me in?"

"But what if you're some Slytherin who brewed a Polyjuice Potion and all you want is to sneak into our Common room?" Sirius asked mock-concernedly.

"Because that's all any Slytherin wants: to break into Gryffindor Tower to steal your stash of whatever the hell you keep in your dorm," Lyra remarked.

"Language, Lyra. Some of us would like to maintain our innocence," Sirius said, putting a hand to his chest.

"Yeah? Is that what you told the last girl you were shagging in a broom cupboard?" Lyra retorted loudly.

"Just because I'm not a stuck-up prude – "

"Whoa, break it up, kids," Remus said as he and James came around the corner. "Star grass," he told the Fat Lady, and her painting promptly moved aside.

"Thank you, _Remus_ ," Lyra said tersely.

"Sirius apologizes," James said to Lyra's retreating form.

"No, he doesn't!" Sirius called.

Lyra flipped him the bird as she stepped into the Common room.

"Listen, mate, I gotta talk to you," Lyra heard James say right before the portrait hole closed behind her.

Emmeline looked up from her seat in front of the fire. She was sitting with Lily and a hovering Wizards' Chess board between them.

"What was that all about?" she asked as Lyra.

"I didn't know the password and had to wait around until Black showed up. No help at all. Don't know why I was surprised." Lyra rolled her eyes and plopped down on the sofa next to Lily. "Finally Remus came around and let me in, thank Merlin. I don't know how much longer I could've stayed out there without chewing Black's head off."

"Infuriating, aren't they? Black and Potter, I mean. Remus is the only decent one, in my opinion," Lily said, putting a comforting arm around Lyra.

"That's not what all the other girls seem to think. Even Marlene being pulled into the trap. She hasn't stopped talking about Potions class all day," Emmeline commented.

"What, you mean how Black was undressing her with his eyes? He's disgusting. I've no idea what she sees in him," Lyra fumed.

"Probably the same thing he sees in her," Emmeline said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lyra questioned her.

"I dunno. Just, you know Marlene. When has she ever been interested in a guy for what he's got going upstairs?" Emmeline shrugged.

It was true. Marlene had her heart in the right place, but when it came to guys, she was more like, well – a _guy_. She didn't give it a second thought if a guy so much as looked at her the right way.

"I guess you're right. Still, I don't like where they're relationship is headed. What if she ends up just another one of his throwaways?" Lyra asked with concern.

"I'm sure Marlene can take care of herself. If anything, _he's_ the one who should be worried," Emmeline reassured her with a smile.

Lyra nodded. "I think I'm gonna go up to bed. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Lyra," Emmeline said.

Lily gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Sleep tight."

"'Night."

Lyra got up and went up to their dorm, seeing a sleeping Marlene in bed. Once Lyra was in bed with the hangings drawn, she slowly drifted off to sleep, thinking about the advice she'd given James, her little episode with Sirius, and how Marlene could possibly see anything good in him.

* * *

The next day, Lyra went down to the Common room early while waiting for Lily to finish getting ready. She wandered about for a few minutes before she heard her name called. Turning around she saw James nudging a reluctant Sirius toward her. He eventually gave in and headed in her direction. Lyra quickly turned back around, but that didn't stop him, as she found he just walked around to face her.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"I've been sent to apologize," he told her. "Apparently, I acted rudely toward you last night. So, I apologize."

"I only accept apologies from people who mean it," Lyra told him, crossing her arms.

"Hey, I'm not the only who acted badly last night. I think I deserve an apology just as much as you, but you don't see _me_ demanding one from you," Sirius argued.

"I never asked you to come over here! Just forget it, I can't believe I actually thought you'd come over to act decently," Lyra said, beginning to turn around to look for Lily and leave.

Sirius put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Wait, wait." He glanced at James for a split second. "I'm sorry. Truly. Let me make it up to you."

Lyra furrowed her brow. "Why would you want to do that?"

"I dunno. Maybe I just feel badly. Anyway, let me treat you to breakfast," Sirius said to her.

"Breakfast is free," Lyra deadpanned.

"Right, but I have something better up my sleeve. Come on, what do you think?"

Spending any amount of time with Sirius was the last thing Lyra wanted to do, and she wouldn't hesitate to tell him so, except she did have a better reason for not agreeing.

"Unfortunately, Black, I have prior obligations," Lyra told him coldly. "I'm having breakfast with Lily this morning. And most likely every morning after that."

"Come on, I'm sure Evans can survive one morning without you," he said in response.

"Give it up, Black. I accept your apology, how's that? And I, in turn, apologize to you. So now we're even. See you in class." With that, Lyra turned on her heel and headed back up to her dorm.

Charms class that day proved to be quite eventful, as the class was required to practice in assigned pairs on a new charm. Lyra thought the professors at Hogwarts must have a sick sense of humour, as Lily was once again paired with James, not at all an unusual occurrence. Thankfully, Sirius was paired with Marlene, and Lyra had Remus.

It was a long class, with everyone waiting for Lily to explode from something that James did, but nothing happened. James caught Lyra's eye at one point and winked. It seemed he was taking her advice by treating Lily like an ordinary girl. Sirius, on the other hand, didn't have any problem treating Marlene like she was the only other one in the room. Lyra was simultaneously repulsed and impressed at the two's blatant urge to begin snogging right there and the restraint they were showing from doing so.

Being the class right before lunch, when it was over, Marlene and Sirius immediately disappeared, probably to go find a nice broom cupboard to snog in. Lyra, Lily, and Emmeline couldn't help but to discuss the pair as they made their way to the Great Hall.

"How long do you think that'll last?" Emmeline asked the other two.

"I give it two weeks and he finds someone else," answered Lily.

"I say one and she realizes she's too good for him," Lyra commented.

"It's strange, though, isn't it? Black's all over Mar, meanwhile Potter didn't even give you a second glance when Flitwick said you'd be partners, Lil," Emmeline observed.

"Yeah, well I'm not complaining," Lily told them.

"Do you think he's finally moved on? Maybe found another girl?" Emmeline suggested.

If Lyra didn't know any better, she'd say Lily looked concerned for a brief moment before saying, "Good for him. I feel bad for whoever the poor girl is, though." She paused. "I wonder what made him change his mind…" Then suddenly, "No, no, I don't care. He's free to do whatever he pleases."

Lyra wasn't sure she quite believed Lily's supposed indifference. Maybe her plan with James was working. She hadn't expected it to be this fast, at any rate.

* * *

That night at dinner, Lyra and Lily were sitting and chatting after having finished eating when they were approached by Remus and Sirius.

"Alright, Lyra, it's time to make up those lost breakfast plans. And I'm not taking 'no' for an answer," Sirius said.

"Can't you see I'm talking to Lily, here?" she responded irritably.

"Ah, yes. Conveniently, it would seem good ol' Moony is here to keep her company." Without waiting for a response, Sirius proceeded to pull Lyra up and out of her chair, and soon they were on their way out of the Great Hall.

"Some may call this kidnapping," Lyra grumbled.

"You really are such lovely company, I don't know why we don't do this more often," Sirius responded sarcastically.

In the Entrance Hall, Lyra thought he was leading her up the marble staircase, but instead he turned to their right side and held a door found there open for her. Lyra had never been this way before, but she recognized it as being where the Hufflepuffs could often be seen entering and exiting.

"What, you're taking me to see the Hufflepuff Common room?" Lyra asked her captor as they descended a staircase.

"Would you just trust me?" he asked in return.

"I don't see any reason to," she muttered, mostly to herself.

Eventually, Sirius came to a stop in front of a giant painting of fruit.

"Yeah, lovely. Is this what we came all the way to see?" Lyra said.

Instead of responding, Sirius began to tickle the pear in the painting, and it turned into a large green doorknob. Lyra couldn't help but be impressed. After all, she had never even been down here. On the other side of the door lay a high-ceilinged room with five huge tables, set up just like the Great Hall. Around the room were various pots and pans stacked up. Most surprisingly, the room also contained what must have been dozens and dozens of house-elves.

"Welcome," said Sirius with a flourish of the arm, "to the kitchens."

Lyra stepped inside. "How did you ever find this place?"

"There isn't a corner of this castle we don't know as well as a childhood home," he answered, taking a seat at the nearest table.

Lyra followed suit, placing herself at the opposite side, and soon a small house house-elf came over to them.

"Master Sirius! What a pleasure. How can Plinky help you?" she asked earnestly.

"Two bottles of your finest butter beer, please, Plinky." He turned to Lyra and said, "Unless Lyra would prefer something stronger?"

"Butter beer's fine, thanks," Lyra answered.

"Right away Master Sirius, Mistress Lyra." Plinky hurried off and returned only a minute later with two cold bottles, placing them on the table between Sirius and Lyra.

"Thank you, Plinky," Lyra told her.

"Of course! Be sure to tell Plinky should you need anything else," she answered.

"We will, Plinky. Thanks," Sirius told her before turning his attention back to Lyra. "So, what're you thinking?"

At the moment, Lyra had only been thinking how amazing it was that she had gone all this time without every really knowing this place existed. The first thing that came to her mind when Sirius spoke, however, was:

"So what's this all about? We hardly ever speak, why the sudden interest in spending time with me?" Lyra questioned.

Sirius sighed. "Well, it's kind of embarrassing… I wanted to talk to you about Marlene," he said, looking away.

"Marlene? Why don't you just talk to Emmeline? She's much closer to Marlene than I am."

"You're easier to talk to than Emmeline. But listen, do you think I've any chance with her?" Sirius asked.

"What are you on about? Didn't the two of you disappear after Charms today to go snog?" responded Lyra, confused about why he was so concerned.

"That's what I thought. But she wouldn't have any of it. Kept trying to _talk_ and all that rubbish," Sirius complained.

Now, that _really_ confused Lyra. It didn't sound like Marlene at all. Sure, Marlene liked to talk, but she'd been known to snog guys she'd just met after a quick greeting. Suddenly, it made sense. Marlene was playing with Sirius; Lyra couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. Marlene always needed to have the upper hand when it came to guys. With someone with as bad a reputation and as many admirers as Sirius, Marlene was making sure he didn't get to full of himself, thinking he had her in the bag. Lyra could've laughed out loud then and there, but she thought she'd play along with Marlene's game.

"Is notorious womanizer, Sirius Black, losing his touch?" Lyra teased.

"Of course not! I could've handled it myself, I just thought I'd see if the inside sources had anything useful to say on the matter. Clearly, they do not," he told her, obviously trying to hide his bruised ego.

"If you say so, mate," said Lyra, holding in a small laugh.

"I haven't seen _you_ with any blokes lately. Is your love life as dry as your sense of humour?" Sirius grinned cheekily.

"I've more important things to concentrate on than idiotic guys like you," she retorted.

"Like helping James with his?"

"How do you know about that? I literally just gave his some advice last night. Not even advice. I just told him to stop acting like a prat around her," Lyra responded.

"He told me immediately after you two discussed. He's convinced himself it's going to work," Sirius told her.

"He might not be wrong about that. She seemed a little put off today after Charms. Didn't seem too happy that he wasn't drooling all over her. It's weird, though. I thought it would take longer than one class to change her mind."

"Maybe she's always fancied him. Thinks her chance is gone," mused Sirius.

"I don't know about that. She probably just grew so used to it that the change threw her off a bit," Lyra said.

"I wonder if he'll finally get her after all these years…."

"Beats me. At any rate, I don't care what he does as long as he keeps me out of his plans. I don't want any part in his scheming. I feel bad enough letting him tutor me," Lyra mentioned.

The two were silent for a few more minutes until Sirius spoke up.

"Still regretting coming down here with me?" he asked.

Lyra pondered that question for a moment. The time she'd spent with him hadn't been bad at all. She'd even go as far as to say she'd enjoyed it. It was this sort of adventure she'd been longing for all year, granted they hadn't ventured that far into unchartered territory. She was honestly looking forward to doing this again.

"I suppose not." she told him.

"Then to new friends," Sirius said, holding up his butter beer.

"To friends," she echoed, clinking her bottle against Sirius'.

When Lyra returned to her dorm later that night, all of her roommates were there, and she was almost tackled by Lily.

"Where have you been?" she asked Lyra, who now held a hand to her chest trying to get back her breath after being startled by Lily.

"Black just took me down to the kitchens as a sort of apology for the other night," Lyra shrugged.

"You shouldn't have left me alone!"

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Lyra questioned while seating herself on her bed.

Lily sat down next to her. "While you were gone, I ended up having a long conversation with Remus!"

"So…" Lyra prompted.

" _So_ ," Lily insisted, "Potter was there."

Immediately Lyra thought he must have done something stupid to ruin his work in Charms. When Lily didn't elaborate, she asked, "What did he do this time?"

"Well, I mean… He was _there_. Isn't that enough? Granted, he didn't actually say much to start off with, but – "

"Lily, could it be possible he acted like a normal human being?" Lyra pressed.

"Potter? No, of course n – "

" _Lily_ ," Lyra warned. She was too tired to put up with Lily's irrational James-hating.

"Alright, so he was perfectly decent. But it can't be real, can it?" Lily said, scepticism evident in her voice.

"Gee, Lil, maybe he's just different than you remember. When was the last time you properly spoke to him? You probably of it, can you?" Lyra raised her brow.

"I guess not," Lily sighed. "It's just, I know how he is."

"Do you?" Lyra asked. Thinking about it, she was sure Lily didn't know anything about James. She'd never really given him a chance before.

Lily remained silent for a time. Lyra loved Lily dearly, but she had little tolerance for pig-headedness. Slowly, Lily got up and moved to her bed. Lyra decided it was best not to disturb Lily's train of thought, so she instead got ready for bed herself.

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Lyra watched as Lily and James turned their relationship, or lack thereof, around. Lyra continued her tutoring sessions with James, and during each one he would shell out stories of little moments that had happened over the week. How once James had asked if he could have a spare bit of parchment, she agreed. And later how she had needed to borrow a quill. Sometimes she would greet him when they entered a room at the same time, and she would return his smiles in the corridors. Lyra had seen some of these things take place, but the bigger moments always happened when she wasn't around.

The other day, for instance, Lyra had just entered the Common room after a conversation in the corridor with Sirius when Lily dragged her upstairs to tell her about the one on one conversation she had just had with James. It was interesting to think that had she not run into Sirius at the precise time she did, she may have inadvertently stopped James and Lily from spending some alone time.

Sirius had been spending more time with Lyra lately, after he and Marlene stopped their snogging sessions. Lily had been right in saying they'd only last two weeks, while Lyra had been correct in saying Marlene would be the one to put an end to it. Neither one seemed at all bothered by the breakup of sorts.

In fact, it was just as Lyra's latest study session with James was coming to a close when Sirius entered the library.

"Hey, Prongs, I was just talking to Moony in the Common room. He needs your help with something he's working on. I don't really know the details."

Lyra had heard the use of these nicknames enough recently to know that he was talking about Remus.

James stared at him for a second before saying, "Oh! Oh, right. Yeah, I better go help him. Lyra, we're just about done here, right?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I think I've got a good enough handle on this to pass the exam," she assured him with a nod.

"I'll help her put away these books, you better just hurry," Sirius told James, who wasted no time getting out of the room.

Lyra watched as he practically raced away. "Must be some problem Remus has," she mused.

"Hm? Oh, I guess so." He stacked a few books. "Listen, you've done a lot of studying tonight. How about you take the rest of the night off? Relax before our exam tomorrow?"

Lyra thought it over. She did want to get her mind off Transfiguration for a while. "Yeah, why not? As long as we aren't out too late..."

"We'll be back plenty early, don't you worry."

Several hours and rounds of Odgen's Old Firewhiskey from Sirius' stash in the kitchens later, Lyra suddenly remembered the time. She was slightly tipsy, but not enough that she didn't remember that she needed to be well-rested for her exam the following day. She quickly left the room with Sirius, and they soon found themselves back in the Entrance Hall.

"It's past curfew. If we get caught, we'll have more to worry about than a little test."

"Relax, love. We've got nothing to worry about unless we run into – "

He stopped at the sound of a cat mewing behind them. Turning, they spotted Filch's newest cat a few feet behind them.

"That," he finished.

Next thing Lyra knew, they were racing up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower. She was almost certain they would make it out unscathed until she heard a yell and footsteps behind a corner they were just about to round. Suddenly, Sirius pulled her behind a tapestry and into some sort of passage. She didn't question it, and he eventually led them to the safety of their Common room. Finally, they were able to stop for a breath as they slumped into one of the cushy armchairs in front of the still roaring fire.

"That was fun," Sirius chuckled, still panting from the chase.

"I was sure we'd had it before we slipped behind that tapestry. How'd you know about that passageway?"

"I told you. We know _everything_ about this castle. Now let me catch my breath. I haven't done that much running since James decided we needed some extra cardio before our match against Slytherin."

Lyra laughed. She was pretty worn out too, and the late hour was finally catching up with her. It had admittedly been a good night, one full of the adventure she had in mind when she had started her seventh year, and the warm fire was the perfect way to end it. She just couldn't wait to curl up and sleep.

* * *

It was still dark when Lyra's eyes fluttered open. Her body felt weightless in the way it only can in the first moments of waking, and as her shut again, she wondered how long she had until breakfast.

She took a deep breath and moved to stretch her sleep-filled muscles. Her duvet felt tight, and she kicked her legs trying to untuck it.

"Oof!"

Lyra froze. She had seen self-cleaning duvets, some that tucked in their owners on their own, a handful that changed colour based on the user's mood. She had never, however, come across a duvet that reacted to being kicked, and certainly not on her own four-poster in the Gryffindor tower.

She open her eyes again, this time allowing them to adjust to the lack of light. It was not before sunrise, as she had initially suspected. There was a faint stream of light coming in through a crack in the drapes surrounding the bed.

Slowly, she lifted herself up onto her elbows and turned toward the source of the aforementioned noise. In the dim light, she could only make out a mass of dark hair framing a pale face, which led to a neck and – to Lyra's horror – a chest uncovered by both duvet and clothing. Lyra whipped her head around and peered through the bed hangings.

The sun had risen, but only just, and the other three beds in the room contained sleeping boys (definitely not her dorm, then). Rationally, she knew she ought to be upset with the circumstances, but for the moment, she was simply pleased that she had not slept through her exam. That was until the boy beside her shifted, and his arm snaked its way around her waist, pulling her toward him.

Even asleep, Sirius was strong, and she dropped down beside him again with a sound similar to the one he had made when she had accidentally kicked him. She kicked him again.

He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "Easy, love."

She rolled her eyes, twisted around under his arm and hissed, "Black!" as close to his ear as she could get.

To her relief, his arm released her and moved toward his face to rub the sleep from his eyes. She used this opportunity to lift herself so she was kneeling beside him.

"We've regressed to the use of surnames, have we?" he muttered, his voice thick. "Is this standard protocol for all those lucky enough to bed you?"

She couldn't help it. She smacked his chest. There was a resounding thud.

"You did not _bed_ me!" she said through her teeth. "We were hardly drunk enough for anything of the sort to have happened last night, and anyway I distinctly remember dozing off in the common room. The question is: How did I get _here_?"

Sirius sat up, and Lyra was relieved to see that he was at least clothed below the waist.

"It was between leaving you there and giving you a bed to sleep in before the exam today," he said in the same hushed tone she had used.

"So you chose yours?!"

"Well I couldn't very well wander into your room, could I?" he asked.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Believe you me, I tried. You wouldn't wake up. And even if you had – no offense – but I really didn't trust you to make it all the way up to your dorm alone."

Lyra sighed and peered outside the bed once more. There was no visible movement, but the sun had risen higher in the sky and snoring from the bed against the far wall that ceased. One of them was likely to wake soon.

Glancing back at Sirius, she asked quietly, "Where's my wand?"

"What're you planning to do to me?"

Lyra scoffed. "Despite what ever the thoughts that preside in that enormous head of yours are telling you, Black, not everything revolves around you. I plan to take my wand and get out of here before any of your roommates wake!"

"Oh. Bedside table. Top drawer."

Lyra shot another glance around the room before popping her head and hand out into the open air. She opened the drawer and found her wand right on top. She was glad to note that it was not touching any of the dreadful things she had imagined would be in the troublemaker's bedside table, but indeed had only come in contact with what looked in the dim light to be nothing more than a folded up spare bit of parchment.

Once her wand was safely grasped in her hand, Lyra turned to face Sirius, hissed a quick, "Coming, then?" and rolled off of the bed, landing nimbly (she was pleased to admit) on her feet. Within seconds, she had reached the door and was on her way down the stairs that led to the common room and, more importantly, her own dorm.

It was still early enough that the common room was empty, and for that, Lyra was immensely grateful. She sat down on the arm of the nearest sofa, and waited for Sirius to follow her down. He didn't take long, and soon he was trudging toward her.

Lyra convinced herself that she was either immensely tired or hungover because, try as she might, she could not stop her eyes from running the length of his body. His sleeping bottoms hung dangerously low, revealing toned muscles she was pretty sure her body could not have produced if she wanted it to. He was muscled, yes, but still lean. Nothing like the meatheads she often encountered in _Witch Weekly_. A glance to his rumpled hair which still maintained its usual elegance had her patting her own dark tresses self-consciously. He stopped in front of her.

"I assume you have more to say?" he said, arms raised lightly at his sides.

Lyra huffed. "What if one of them had been awake last night? Or pulled open your hangings?"

"Obviously I checked first. And we only pull the hanging when we don't want to be bothered. They wouldn't have done anything. Am I even going to get a 'thank you'?"

Lyra wanted to object. She could think of a handful of insults to throw at him. Yet she was reluctant to utter anything harsh. He had shown her a preview of what it was to have fun at Hogwarts. She had woken up in plenty of time to dress, eat a leisurely breakfast, and mentally prepare for Transfiguration. And she _had_ slept soundlessly. She flicked her gaze to his grey eyes, which were peering at her curiously, and down to the floor.

"Thanks, I guess," she said. "For everything."

"Right, well…" he cleared his throat of the small amount of sleep that could still be heard in it. "Now we've gotten over that. Are we okay?"

She considered it. She looked at his face once more and raised a hand in front of her. "No one hears about this."

"Naturally."

"I mean it," Lyra pushed. "Not even James! Promise me."

Sirius brought a hand to face and rolled his head back. "Alright, I promise." He dropped his hand and looked down at her. "It's our secret."

A few minutes later, Lyra was back in the safety of her own dorm. The first signs of life were just occurring in room as she prepared to hop in the shower. It was quick, just enough of a wash to rid herself of any and all proof of having spent the night in Sirius Black's bed.

Emmeline was the only one to comment on how early Lyra was awake, and Lyra was naïve to think she had gotten away with it all until a small while later at breakfast.

She was in the midst of scooping a second helping of eggs and potatoes onto her plate when she glanced down the table to see if there was any pumpkin juice within reach. Much to her dismay, her eyes did not spot a single pitcher of the stuff, but instead landed on the smug grin of Sirius, who sat gorging himself a ways down. Of course, she had not been looking for him, and if she had been, he would not have known it; being that as it may, what he did not know was that she was not looking for him, nor that he would not have known had she been. In the end, she was still without pumpkin juice, Sirius was certainly contented with the notion that she had indeed been looking for him, and Lyra received a cheeky wink from the utter buffoon.

"Did Black just wink at you?" Lily asked from beside her.

"What a good question," Lyra commented, not at all as condescendingly as the phrasing might suggest.

"I should think so," Lily responded without missing a beat. "And I'll try my hand at another. What kept you out so late last night? It was a couple of Slytherins on rounds – you're lucky that lot didn't catch you."

"What?" Lyra said, turning to face the girl. "You don't believe I was in the library and lost track of time?"

"And I still want to know what business Black has winking at you."

Lyra pulled out the guiltiest face she could manage, which was not particularly difficult. "You've caught me, I suppose. I did not, in fact, return to the seventh year Gryffindor girls' dormitory on evening past. Instead I found myself sleeping peacefully in the arms of one Master Black until the break of dawn."

Lily gaped at her. Lyra stared back. There were fewer students around them than there had been before. A smile broke out across the face of the redhead.

"Lyra," she said, "please don't ever enter the world of acting."

Lily turned her attention to the bowl of Cheery-Owls in front of her, and Lyra turned away, eyes wide with disbelief. Lily was losing her edge. Once again, Lyra's eyes met those of Sirius.

She did not imagine that he had nothing better to do than eavesdrop on a conversation between two teenage girls, and if he did not, she further speculated that he was rather too distant to have heard any of it. But then again, the crowds had thinned as the younger students had rushed out to be early to class, and Lyra could hear snippets of the animated, apparently one-sided, conversation that James was having with Remus about some professional Quidditch team or another just a seat down from their friend. Their friend who had his eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly and his jaw slackened to the same degree as he stared at her.

Lyra felt the corners of her mouth upturn as she sent him a cheeky wink.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: For those of you already following this story, I've updated the first chapter with a little note from myself, if you're interested. Nothing crucial. I'm realizing I've fallen into the trap of starting a story just before returning to my lovely (and not at all excruciatingly painful) university studies, so updates have slowed. Together, we trek on.**

* * *

Lyra walked out of McGonagall's Transfiguration class, she felt the most confident she had in years. There had only been one question on the exam that she had been unsure about, but even though she could not recall the specific details of the spell, she had at least recognized its name. On some of the more theory-based questions, she had even run out of space to write her responses.

"That was brilliant, wasn't it?" Lily asked as she, Lyra, and Marlene walked out of the classroom.

Emmeline had run off in the opposite direction for Ancient Runes, while the three other girls had a free period.

"I think I did alright," Marlene said. "I knew, like, half the questions without a doubt, and only a few of the rest were pure guesswork. Nothing like you, Lyra." She sent a teasing glare. "I don't think I heard the scribble of your quill stop the entire time!"

Lyra's cheeks were tinged a light shade of pink. "What can I say? My extra library time has been paying off."

"I'll say," Lily laughed. "Maybe I ought to start joining you."

"No!" Lyra said, perhaps a little too quickly. She did her best to cover it up. "I mean, the best way for me to learn is to teach you afterward. If you start studying with me the first time, I'll never understand it fully, I'm sure."

"I'll keep Lily out of your hair," Marlene piped in. "So long as you start teaching me, too."

Lyra smiled. "It's a deal."

The girls continued walking. They had a some time to kill before their next class, and the wind outside made for a bitter October day. Wandering the castle corridors was the best option they had for unwinding post-exam.

"Oh, Lyra! Did Lily tell you the big news?" Marlene asked.

Lyra gasped. "Who's the father?" She got a smack on the shoulder for that one.

"You cow!" Lily giggled. "And you, Marley! Don't you go exaggerating!"

"I'll be the judge of any exaggeration. Spill," Lyra said.

Lily rolled her eyes and stopped walking. The corridor was deserted, lessons being in session. She swooped down on an alcove under a large window, whose edges were dusted with a foggy film.

"Last night, while you were in the library, I was sitting in the common room doing some light reading – "

"Because _Curse-Breaking and Corpses_ is light reading," Marlene interjected.

"Oh, hush!" Lyra told her. "Go on, Lily."

Lily sighed. "Well, there I was reading when Remus came over to discuss prefect-related things. A few minutes later, Ja – Potter came and sat with us. It was on the same sofa, but the other side. Most of the other seats in front of the fire were taken, so I suppose I can't blame him for that. Anyway, he just sat quietly, not paying any attention to us. Soon though, Remus left to work on Potions homework."

"If this is another one of those 'But he was _there_ ' moments, I swear…" Lyra warned.

"It's not!" Lily said. "He didn't say anything at first. I went back to reading for what must have been twenty minutes, and he just sat there. But he didn't so much as glance at me – "

"Only one way she'd know that," Marlene whispered to Lyra.

Lily ignored the interruption and continued. "It was as though he was thinking, which I thought him incapable of. Eventually, when I couldn't stand it any longer, I asked him what was on his mind that had him looking so serious."

"You did _what_?" Lyra almost shrieked, before remembering that there were likely professors nearby that would not appreciate it. This was entirely new ground for the two of them. Lily had never started a conversation with the boy for any reason other than to tell him to stop staring.

"Curiosity got the better of me." Lily shrugged and began tracing shapes in the stone wall she was leaning against. "He told me that his mother's birthday is coming up, and he hadn't the faintest idea what to get for her. The conversation jumped around a bit. We must have talked for nearly an hour before I realized what I was doing and got out of there."

Lyra was positively beaming, and it was all she could do to contain her excitement. James was starting to grow on Lily, and though she was still adverse to the effect the boy was having on her, she was clearly not immune. Lyra knew it best to make as little a deal out of this development as possible, in hopes of not scaring off Lily – who was still speaking.

"Did you know his father has invented a fair number of well-liked hair potions?"

"Fleamont Potter," Lyra and Marlene said at once.

Lily blanched. "How did you both know that?"

"I've been known to use Sleekeazy's s Hair Potion from time to time," Lyra told her with a shrug.

"We weren't all born with naturally perfect hair, Lils," Marlene agreed.

"I'd advise against you using it, anyway," Lyra added. "Supposed to produce mixed responses in redheads." She grinned when Lily's mouth opened, apparently offended. "I'm serious!"

There came a tutting sound from behind Lyra. She saw Lily's eyes narrow and arms cross. At the same time, Marlene only turned her head slightly and scoffed. Confused, Lyra whirled around.

A few yards away stood Sirius, a nervous looking Peter at his side. Lyra bit back a hiss. Couldn't she go anywhere without his sauntering up and complicating it? She backed up until her shoulder blades were just grazing the wall beside Lily, who was not yet standing.

"You should know," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "that it pains me to say this. It really does, but I mustn't ignore my obligation." He took several steps forward, hands in pockets. "I think you will find that I, in fact, am the ' _Sirius_ ' one here."

"If I cast the Killing Curse in front of a mirror," Marlene said, sidestepping Sirius and looking back over her shoulder at Lyra and Lily, "reckon I can get it to bounce back at me?"

"Wouldn't need the curse, love. Might well catch sight of your own reflection and waste away unable to tear your eyes from the reflection," Sirius said to her.

"Oh, so he's clever!" She up a hand in front of her mouth, feigning astonishment. "Who knew he could put that tongue to another use?"

Lyra looked past where the two of them were bickering. Peter still stood where Sirius had left him. His eyes were wide and his hands fidgeted. She wondered why he followed James and Sirius around like he did when he seemed so uncomfortable with everything they got up to. She looked back at Lily, glad that she had friends whose company she enjoyed, and who genuinely appreciated hers in return.

Lily set her shoulders and moved toward Sirius, grabbing Marlene and pulling the girl so that she was now separated from Sirius by Lily's body.

"If you'll excuse us, Black, we were just on our way. I suggest you be on yours." She spoke if a quiet voice, but it was laced with ice.

Sirius looked as though he wanted to say something spiteful, but he clenched his jaw and stared down at her instead. With a huff he brushed past her and toward Lyra. She was leaning against the cool stone wall, and he moved until he was standing directly in front of her, his arm extended so that his hand clutched at the stone directly beside her head.

"Hello," he breathed.

"I will slap you," she warned.

He chuckled, but made no attempt to move. "Done alright in McGonagall's this morning?"

"Would you be quiet?" she murmured.

He studied her face for a moment before the smoky pools settled on her own eyes. She watched as they flicked back and forth. It made her blink. When he spoke, it was such a low murmur that she had to lean forward to decipher the words.

"Fancy a celebratory – gah!"

Lily had pulled at the crook of his elbow to knock him off balance while Marlene had pushed from the other side. He only stumbled on one step before regaining his balance.

"We'll be on our way," Lily told him.

She grabbed Lyra's hand and tugged her away and down the hall. Only three sets of feet could be heard clattering down the corridor, which meant that the girls were not behind pursued. As they rounded the first corner, a light-hearted, barking laugh could be heard echoing off the walls behind them.

They reached the common room quickly, likely due to the tendency for the pace of angry women to exceed that of level-headed ones when exiting a scene. And all three girls were fuming.

"He just thinks he has something to prove because I wouldn't sleep with him!" Marlene growled as she threw herself onto her bed.

"The nerve!" said Lily, pacing the room. "Never thought the day would come I'd find someone more inconsiderate than James Potter!"

"Hm," Lyra said, agreeing with them both. She couldn't very well complain that he'd almost given away the fact that she'd been lying to them for weeks.

"I need to go for a walk," Lily said. "I'll see you in Defence, okay?" She was out the door before either girl had time to respond.

Lyra went to sit on her beg and hugged her pillow. She had been reckless lately, and really, she would have deserved it had she been found out. Apart from her little escapade with Sirius the night before, she had spoken to him in corridors and occasionally in class. Well, he had spoken to her. As much as she tried to ignore the boys at all times apart from Thursday nights in the library, she couldn't seem to shake him. She was certain Emmeline had noticed it, though she was too preoccupied with her class marks to care. Had Lily not had so many run-ins with James as of late, Lyra was convinced she would suspect something.

"Oh, Lyra, I'm sorry! I've been totally focusing on me," Marlene brought her out of her silent speculation. "We need to figure out what you're gonna do!"

Lyra's eyebrows pushed together. "About what?"

"About Black! Now that he seems to have settled on you as his new play thing – "

"Where on Merlin's good earth did you come up with a notion like that?"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Come on, I know how he thinks. Once he decides what girl he wants, he's got a pretty straightforward strategy. Chat her up in the corridors – no, don't try to deny that – and completely invade all personal space. What else would you call what he did to you just now?"

Lyra stood up and threw her pillow down onto her bed. Marlene was being ridiculous. He was merely being friendly. If she knew about the tutoring sessions with James, she would be able to see that.

"It's not like he flirts with me!" She backtracked. "Well, at least not anymore than he flirts with everyone else… Even McGonagall's on the receiving end from time to time."

"I'll pretend that's true. But there's one trick he only pulls out when he really wants to impress one of his _birds_."

Lyra placed her hands on her hips.

"Remember the night he took you down to the kitchens?"

"That was an apology for his acting like a complete prat!"

"And I'm a hippogriff," Marlene said. "Look, I'll lay off it. It's no skin off my back who he drools over, and you're smart enough to stay away from him." She picked a textbook out of her bag and began flipping through the pages. "Just don't say I didn't warn you. All guys like that want it to get up your robes."

Lyra followed suit and worked on a Charms essay until it was time to leave for Defence. She had a difficult time keeping her eyes focused on the paper as she thought about what Marlene had said. The other girl had gone with Sirius for just over two weeks, so she was bound to know something about him.

Shortly later, Lyra arrived in class to find that Lily was there, and she looked a lot calmer than she had before. They were a few minutes early, and the only other students in the room were of an assorted variety of the non-Gryffindor houses.

Lyra sat next to her, while Marlene occupied a seat in the row behind.

"Feeling better?" Lyra asked. "I didn't know Black could get so under your skin."

"I'm fine," Lily assured her. "If I'm being honest, I was more put off by the thought of Potter."

When Lyra only looked at her in confusion, Lily looked around at the surrounding desks. There was a Ravenclaw on her other side, but the curly-haired boy was paying no attention, his nose buried in a book while he scribbled notes onto a piece of parchment. Lyra wondered how he could do that without looking up. Lily looked back toward her friend and leaned in.

"I think… I think I don't hate Potter," she muttered. "It's just that I was so furious at the way Black was acting, and it reminded me so much of him, but he wasn't even there! When is he _not there_ when I'm being harassed? And then I tried to remember the last time he _was_ there for a similar incident. He hasn't done anything that bad since sixth year, and even then it was sporadic… The last month or so he hasn't done anything and – and…"

"Lily Evans," Lyra said.

"What?"

"Is that what had you so bothered? That he's growing up? It's okay. There's nothing wrong with being friends – _friendly_ ," she amended, for Lily had glared. "I'm just saying that it's alright to give him a chance now that he's starting to deserve one."

"Give him a chance," Lily repeated slowly.

Lyra smiled to herself as the classroom began to fill. Lily never admitted to anything she had not thought quite a lot about. This could very well be the beginning of a trek across unchartered waters.

Class passed without incident, and even Sirius had the brains to stay away from the Gryffindor girls as the class broke into partners for mock-duels. Lyra noticed Lily cast a few cursory glance at James, and on the occasion that he saw her looking, he sent a small smile her way before turning back to cast a shield charm. Lily only looked down, her cheeks a distinct shade of pink.

* * *

Saturday morning, Lyra and the other Gryffindor girls found themselves in the Great Hall discussing the day's plan over a leisurely breakfast. It was a Hogsmeade Weekend – a fact which had completely escaped Lyra's notice with all of the extra study time she had been putting in to prepare the previous day's Transfiguration exam.

Marlene wanted to shop for some new robes, Emmeline planned to look over the new additions at her favourite bookshop, and Lily would be stocking up on Honeyduke's treats. Lyra wasn't partial to any shop in particular.

"I've made the mistake of shopping with you, Marley, and it's never happening again," Lyra said. "My arms were sore for days after all of the things you filed into them!"

Marlene rolled her eyes and grinned. "Well, any one of you would only slow me down."

"And no one is invited to come me smile," Emmeline said, no trace of a joke in her voice. "I need to read plenty of excerpts before I settle on anything, and I shan't be distracted."

The three other girls exchanged amused glances. Sometimes Lyra wondered if Emmeline only tolerated them most of the time.

"I guess that leaves you with me," Lily said with a grin. "And we can all meet at noon in the Three Broomsticks?"

Everyone agreed enthusiastically, and soon they were on their way.

Lyra and Lily spent their time perusing the shelves of Honeydukes. Chocolate frogs were a must for the dorm, and Lily never returned from Hogsmeade without a hearty supply of Sugar Quills. Still, there was only so much time one could spend in a sweets shop. Lyra grabbed a handful of Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties before heading to the counter pay and exiting the building.

They stopped in Zonko's and browsed the shelves. Even after three years of going to Hogsmeade, the joke shop never failed to surprise Lyra with the ingenuity of its products. Neither she nor Lily were much of a prankster, but perusing the joke never failed as a fun way to pass the time.

It was still ten minutes until the designated meeting time, but the two girls decided it best to head to the pub and secure a table before the lunch rush got too heavy. When they got inside, it was a welcome warm compared to the bitter wind outside. They had been right to come in early, as there were still a few tables open. Most were taken by other Hogwarts students, and after spotting James and Sirius in the corner, the girls settled for the open table closest to the door.

They sat chit-chatting while sharing a Chocolate Frog, which was accompanied by another Albus Dumbledore collectable card, before Lyra walked to the bar to retrieve drinks for herself, Lily, and their soon-to-arrive roommates. She placed her order with the barmaid, Rosmerta, and leaned her elbows on the bar top to wait for the striking woman to fill four mugs with Butterbeer.

The bar was buzzing with chatter, the lights dim, and the bell over the door chimed occasionally as more people entered to escape the cold October air.

"Need any help with those?" an all too familiar voice said from just behind her shoulder.

Lyra whirled around, which she regretted instantly. Sirius' face was much closer than she had been expecting as he leaned down toward her. Thinking of her conversation with Marlene in their dorm the day before, she sighed.

"What d'you want?"

Sirius straightened up and placed his hands in his trouser pockets. He studied her for a moment, and Lyra stared back at him.

"You're not still upset about yesterday?"

"Why would I be upset? You only acted like a like an antagonistic git for no purpose other than to use our annoyance to fuel your ego." The words were harsh, but Lyra couldn't bring herself to put any force behind them.

Rosmerta placed the Butterbeers on the bar, with a quick "There you are, dear." Before Lyra could even turn back around, Sirius had placed a few coins beside the drinks.

"It's on me," he said to Lyra. "Keep the change," he added with a wink in Rosmerta's direction.

Lyra made to push herself away from the counter (as she had been leaning against it), but when her hands grasped the edge of the surface, Sirius' right hand covered hers, preventing her from moving.

"What've I really done?" he asked.

"If you don't let me go, Lily will just come over here herself," she warned.

He didn't move. "She's preoccupied at the moment."

Lyra leaned to the side so she could see behind his tall frame, and she saw that he was right. James was standing beside the table where Lily was waiting, and they looked to be in the middle of a conversation. Lyra rolled her eyes at the irony. Of course _this_ was one of the rare occasions that Lily was choosing to interact with him alone. Lyra looked back at Sirius.

"I'm not going to tell you what's wrong," she said, "so you may as well let it be."

His face was closer to hers again, and she had a hard time thinking of evidence to prove Marlene's theory wrong. She attempted pull away, glaring down at his hand and silently cursing whatever muscles in his arm kept it there so easily.

"Lyra. Look at me."

"No," she said, but then lifted her gaze despite her intentions.

This time his nose was mere inches from hers, and she flinched away. At that he seemed to find reason to pause his previous train of thought.

"Since when do you shy away from me?" he asked, leaning back. "What happened to the girl who punched me awake when she woke up in my bed?"

Lyra's teeth clenched. She wished he wouldn't say things like that so publicly. Not to mention, she hadn't _punched_ him.

"That was before," she mumbled.

"Before what?" When she didn't respond, he repositioned his head to meet her averted gaze. "Before _what_?"

She didn't want to tell him. It wasn't as though he had no clue what he was doing. Even now, he stood occupying almost all of her personal space, and he may as well have been holding her hand. She may not have understood each of his intentions, but she knew Marlene was inexplicably correct about one thing she had said: Lyra was not stupid enough to fall prey to his game.

Her eyebrows lowered as she looked at him. "Before Marlene told me that the only reason you talk to me is because you have ulterior motives," she snapped.

His eyes widened for the briefest of moments. "Merlin," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. The hand that was holding Lyra's down slackened, and she took advantage of that to free herself and cross her arms. "How'd she figure it out?"

"Probably wasn't too hard given how you did the same thing to her."

"Sorry?" he asked.

"What, someone's used a memory charm on you and you've suddenly forgotten toying with Marlene for a fortnight?"

She straightened her back and held her head a bit higher. She thought she had finally learned a lesson that had been seventeen years in the making. There was no use in avoiding what was happening around her in favour of comfort, and this was a situation that required her to stand her ground.

"Is that what you think?" Half a chuckle escaped his mouth. "Lyra, I'm not trying to get you in bed… Well, given our history, I should rephrase. I'm have no interest in shagging you."

He looked amused, his usual air of confidence settling around him like a heavy, velvet cloak and finished off with a crown atop his head. Lyra looked at him for less than a second, but the smug set of his lips brought heat rushing to her cheeks.

"I need to get back to Lily," she mumbled, turning to grab the all but forgotten Butterbeers on the countertop.

"Wait!" he said, twirling her back around. "Don't take that the wrong way. Please. I only meant that's not the reason I've been spending time with you."

She glared at him. "What's the reason, then?"

"Who says I need a reason?"

"You just did!" she insisted. "But alright, I'll move on to the next question. Why won't you let me go back to my table?"

"Lily's got company enough. Stay and talk to me."

"So you can stand here insulting me until so much time has passed that simply to pass the time until my return, Lily will have gone ahead and agreed to marry Ja – "

She stopped herself, distracted as the cogs inside her mind turned. Lily had only just begun speaking to James on a semi-regular basis, yet this was the only time Lyra had been in the vicinity to see it. Every other time she had only heard an account from Lily at a later time. Lyra had always seemed to be in the wrong place. She was in the library while Lily and James were in the common room. She was in the corridor while Lily and James were entering a classroom together. She was in the kitchens. She was in the Great Hall. She was at the bar. What was the common factor in all of these scenarios? _Who_ was it?

She took a deep breath and felt her eyes begin to sting. Blinking back the tears, she stepped closer to Sirius. They were chest to chest, and she raised herself to her full high (which was still a head shorter than him). She looked into his eyes.

"You're the decoy," she whispered slowly, not trusting her voice. "It's your job to keep me away from Lily so that James can slide in and take advantage of my absence. As if I'm some obstacle. As if I'm some – some _inconvenience_ that needs to be dealt with in order to get to someone _worthy_ of attention! Worthy of kindness!"

"Lyra – " Sirius tried to reason.

"No!" she said, her voice loud enough that the few patrons nearest the couple turned to look. "No, I've had enough. Have it your way. I won't be a nuisance today."

She shoved past him, eyes downcast as the tears threatened to overflow. She went as fast as she could without breaking into a run, and when she got outside, the brisk autumn air greeted her. She rushed in the direction of the castle and refused to look back, even when she heard Lily call after her.

* * *

 **A/N: Honestly, let me know if you're liking it so far. Nothing's set in stone and I can't imagine continuing on for a bored audience. Have a happy week. xx S**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: A bit of delay getting this one out, but I'm so grateful for the response WTRMaR (that's a terrible acronym - we'll go with Two Wrongs) has been getting. Thank you buckets and buckets! Without further ado:**

* * *

Lyra's head was aching, the space behind her eyes pulling inward in a way that gave her the impression that something might soon snap. She was sat in the shower, the water gliding down her bare skin as the steam clouded her vision further. The time had seemed to pass in a such a fashion that some moments stretched on and others passed in each instance that she leaned her head against the shower wall and blinked.

A knock on the door had been heard in decreasing frequency until it had stopped altogether, and Lyra assumed that it must be Lily in an attempt to find out what exactly had transpired between Lyra and Sirius at the Three Broomsticks. The door to the bathroom was locked, but not in a way that would have pretended Lily from casting a simple _Alohomora_ and entering.

After the rise and fall of several civilizations, Lyra gripped the wall's shelf and pulled herself to a standing position. She stopped the flow of the water, both from the plumbing and her eyes, and wrapped herself in a fluffy, dark red towel. There was another tentative knock on the door.

"Come in."

Lily poked her head around the edge of the door, her eyes wide with concern. Lyra moved toward the floor-length mirror on the wall of the room to assess the damage. She was bright red around the nose and eyelids, and in all honesty, she would not have been surprised if someone looking at her assumed that she had been the recipient of a particularly nasty Stinging Jinx. Lily stood behind her.

"What's happened?" she said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

"It's stupid," said Lyra.

"Given the involvement that Sirius Black has in the situation, I've no doubt there was a load of stupidity involved." Lily combed her fingers through Lyra's hair. "But I've also no doubt the stupidity came entirely from his end of things."

Lyra imagined herself telling Lily everything. The tutoring, the night spent in the boys' dorm, her realization in the pub. Lily would be upset at first, she knew. It was a horrible thing to be lied to by the people who had appeared to be friends. Lily would likely refuse to speak to James again. For a fleeting moment, the thought brought a smile to Lyra's face. And yet she knew that James was not the real culprit here. He was blinded by love, or at least by infatuation, which was more often that not a more deadly affliction.

Lyra looked at Lily through the mirror. She was pulling the tangled mess that was Lyra's hair into a plait, her fingers working nimbly and gently. Here Lily was comforting her after all of her dishonesty. It was obvious what she needed to do.

"There's a bit of a backstory."

And so Lyra told her the secret to her recent success in Transfiguration, how she had denied James' request that she put in a good word with Lily, of each and every time she had been with Sirius, and what had caused her to rush back from Hogsmeade.

"Those absolute wankers!" Lily fumed.

Lyra blanched, though whether it was because of Lily's oversight of Lyra's guilt in the entire situation or the unexpected language, she wasn't sure.

"Lily, I need you to believe me when I say that I know James did not have any malicious intent. I'm certain his friends orchestrated the whole thing to help him."

"And he let them!"

"He may be in the top of our class," Lyra said, "but he's utterly thick when it comes to matters of the heart. Whether or not he was the cause of it, I don't blame him, and I don't want you to either."

Lily's face matched her hair. "You were treated like rubbish!"

"Not by _him_! Please, can we just forget any of this ever happened? Where're Marley and Emme?"

"I left them at the pub. I didn't tell them anything in case you didn't want to draw attention to it."

"Good," said Lyra. "We'll say I was feeling ill and decided to come back. We'll go on as usual with the exception that I'm going to do what I should've done from the beginning and stay away from all of the seventh year Gryffindor boys."

"Don't you think – "

"No. Whatever it is, no. I've never been embarrassed so badly in my life, and the only way to get over it is to distance myself from the causal factors."

Lily sighed, but she didn't argue.

"Now," said Lyra, "let's figure out what to do about my face, shall we?"

Soon enough it was Monday morning. Lyra had kept herself locked up in Gryffindor tower for much of the remainder of the weekend, and neither Marlene nor Emmeline questioned her story of illness.

And yet time did as time did best and kept going, so when it came time for the first time that Lyra would be seeing James and Sirius since the Incident, she could only sigh and trudge on to her seat. She set up her cauldron, and Lily set hers up in the next space over. They both pointedly ignored the pleading look that James kept shooting over his shoulder from his work station.

Professor Slughorn's class dragged on as usual as he stressed the importance of the proper size of lacewing flies for the potion they were to be brewing and set them to work. Lyra was sure her potion was too bright a pink as she glanced over at Lily's work, but it seemed to be mellowing in colour as it simmered. She had four more minutes to wait until stirring again and adding another set of ingredients.

Staring absentmindedly into her cauldron, she almost missed the flash of movement in the corner of her vision. She glanced down in time to see a twice folded bit of parchment land on the edge of the table she was working on and bounce onto the ground. She bent down and picked it up before searching the rest of the room for its source.

James was nudging his head toward the paper in her hands with an earnest look on his face. Lyra rolled her eyes and considered tossing the parchment into her potion to destroy it, but she didn't want to fail the assignment. To her right, Lily was too immersed in her textbook to have noticed the exchange. Reluctantly, Lyra unfolded it and read.

 _Can we talk after class? Please. Two minutes._

Lyra's eyebrows came together. This went against her plans to forget about what had happened. Unfortunately, leaving James to his antics might mean that she would never have the chance to move on and forget. She looked back at him and nodded. _This time_ , she thought, _Lily is coming with me_.

Class ended before long. Lyra wasn't necessarily confident in the vial she had handed to Slughorn, but Lily had assured her it wasn't too far off what it was supposed to look like. As they cleaned up their work stations, Lyra showed Lily the note from James, and they prepared to meet him in the corridor together.

He was leaning against the stone wall across from the Potions classroom when they found him. Fortunately, he was alone, his friends having apparently decided it was alright to leave him, even without an ulterior motive. As the girls approached, James kept his eyes on trained on Lyra and pushed himself from the wall.

"I'm sorry," he said, a pink tinge grazing his cheeks. "I let things go too far."

Lily made a noise that sounded like the beginning of a retort, and James finally looked at her, though only to raise a hand as a request for that they hold their comments until the end.

"Sirius told me what you said in the pub, about feeling like you were being used and tossed aside like rubbish, and I swear to Merlin that had I known you were being hurt, I would've put an end to it immediately." He ran a hand through his hair a couple of times. "Not that it's any excuse." He sighed. "It shouldn't have happened in the first place, regardless of how anyone thought you'd take it."

"That's right," Lily confirmed.

Lyra still did not say anything, so James continued.

"I just – I really am so sorry, Lyra. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you in the slightest, I won't hesitate. Whatever it is: Honeydukes sweets, a spot on the Quidditch team, meals delivered directly to your room… I'll tutor you in Transfiguration until you're a bloody Animagus if that's what it takes."

Lyra looked into his hazel eyes and was reminded of her dogs at home whenever they had done something they knew was wrong. She couldn't stay mad at him when all he had wanted was a chance with Lily. It wasn't his fault he saw how amazing she was, and it certainly wasn't his fault that nobody, Sirius included, saw anything worthwhile in her. She stared harder into those guilty eyes and nodded her head.

"I forgive you, James."

* * *

"I think I might go with Sirius again."

Lyra spat her mouthful of water back into the goblet from whence it came. Across the table, Lily dropped her fork with a clatter onto her plate, and Emmeline nearly chocked on a bite of roasted potatoes. From beside Lyra, Marlene simply looked at the three of them, nonplussed.

"I had my fun last month, and the upper hand is mine," she told them as Lily repeatedly smacked the coughing Emmeline on the back. "Now that the term is really underway, I could use a source of tension relief, and what better way?"

"You get into a row every single time you speak to each other," Lyra protested.

Marlene only shrugged. "It'll get him off your tail, at least."

Lyra shook her head. "I've already told you that he isn't interested in –"

Marlene did not allow her to finish her statement, and instead called down the table, "Oi! Black!" And when he looked over with a grimace and an eyebrow raised, she continued, "I won't bite, just come 'ere!"

Lyra looked at her with wide eyes. "What'd you do that for!"

"Just proving a point, babes, don't worry."

"Marley," Lily said, "is this _really_ necessary?"

"Is there a reason everyone's so bothered?" asked Marlene, face screwing up.

"After getting over the initial shock, I'm not sure I've ever been less bothered," Emmeline told them and went back to cutting up the contents of her plate.

"What's all the fuss?" Sirius said, taking the seat next to Marlene, one leg on either side of the bench.

"I need a favour," Marlene said, batting her long lashes.

Sirius leaned back and tilted her head toward her. "From me?"

Marlene rolled her eyes and pushed herself up from the table. "Yes. Now stay here for a mo' and wait for me to come back."

"You're mental."

"Please, Sirius?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds before he swung his leg over the bench he was sitting on and faced the table. He snatched a slice of bread from a basket on the table and tore a piece off with his teeth.

"Hurry up, then."

Marlene smiled with a bit too much smugness and winked at the girls before turning on her heel and walking from the Great Hall.

While this exchange had been going on, Lyra and Lily had watched in silence. Emmeline was still working on her roasted potatoes. Now, Sirius looked at each of them.

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?"

Lily opened her mouth, eyes squinted, but it was Emmeline spoke.

"Not likely."

Sirius sighed. "I figured as much."

When Sirius had first come over, Lyra had not been expecting anything remarkable from him. She had not expected an apology. She had not expected things to go back to normal. If anything, she had been expecting him to avoid spending any prolonged amount of time in her company out of shame. As he sat there, muscles relaxed, bored expression on his face, she felt the flame of anger she had been harbouring flicker.

And for the next five minutes until Marlene's return, the four of them sat in silence. Lyra imagined that Emmeline might have described it as a comfortable silence, but she was clearly oblivious to the daggers being shot out of the eyes of her two remaining roommates at the bread-eating boy sitting with them.

Finally, Lily's eyes raised to just above Lyra's head.

"Don't stop the conversation on my account," Marlene chirped.

Both Lyra and Sirius turned to look at Marlene, though when Lyra set her eyes on Sirius' face she instantly recoiled and rotated back, staring at her hands. She heard Sirius get up from beside her.

"Oh, don't give me that look," said Marlene.

"The favour?" Sirius questioned.

"Yes," Marlene said. "Thank you."

There was a long pause. Lyra was now watching the scene vicariously through Lily's face expressions. She looked as confused as Lyra felt.

"Again, you're mental," Sirius said and paused for a beat. "So does half ten work for you?"

"I'll see you then," Marlene answered, a smile in her voice.

Marlene refused to explain anything until after dinner when they were all sat in their dormitory. As it goes, she had wanted to prove to Lyra that, yes, Sirius did think the latter fit, and given the chance, would flirt mercilessly with her. The obviously well-thought out way of testing this postulation was to leave Sirius and Lyra in a position in which they would be stuck together with Lily and Emmeline as witnesses to the whole interaction.

This was easy enough to understand, though neither Lyra nor Lily offered the other side of the story – the one in which Sirius had not spoken to Lyra since Hogsmeade, not even to apologize. For this reason, the two girls were surprised that he had stayed seated with them in Marlene's absence. When asked how she knew he would agree to wait for her to come back, Marlene had an explanation so ridiculous, that it was almost ingenious.

According to Marlene, she had known she would be able to convince him to stay because he would either want to for Lyra or not want to at all. In the case of the former, he would comply easily. In the case of the latter, his not wanting to stay would create a power struggle of sorts. This, Marlene insisted, was key.

Sirius, she had learned quickly during their time together, absolutely abhorred being in a position of subservience. Residual feelings from his time in an old, wealthy, pureblood family. A more recent complex of Gryffindor nobility. Call it what you will. In any case, there was only one way he would sit at that dinner table because an old fling had told him to. This was also the only way she would be able to go with him again. She needed to relinquish any dominance she had over him and _ask him for a favour_. In this way, she explained, he would know that he was in control of this particular situation and any future "situations." He would do her the favour, and he would be back on top.

"And if he had simply thought it a favour?" Lily asked once Marlene had finished her explanation.

"Had that been the case, then the underlying fact that the favour I had asked of him was to sit on a bench and wait for five minutes would have tipped him off."

"You're mental," Lily echoed Sirius' statement from dinner.

"And what's all this business about meeting with him tonight?" Lyra asked.

"Once he was sure of what I was doing, it was blaringly obvious that I'm interested in him again," she explained, as if to a child.

Lyra and Lily stared at her in wonder. Lyra was unsure she had understood exactly what had transpired, but it didn't matter. He had clearly not spared her a thought since Saturday, and she was not about to go on sparing any for him.

The conversation slowly shifted toward Lily and James, as the other girls had started to notice their more frequent (and less aggressive) interactions. Lyra sat on her bed with her Transfiguration textbook open in front of her. Her eyes roamed across the pages, but the words weren't sinking in.

Soon enough Marlene had left to meet Sirius, and the other three Gryffindor girls were starting to settle in for the night. As Lyra lay in her bed and looking out the window at the bright, starry sky, she wondered when it would be her turn. Lily had the love of James and Marlene had the lust of Sirius, but what did Lyra have? What did she want?

* * *

On Thursday evening, Lyra found herself standing in front of the large wooden doors that led into the library. It was only half six, and if she were expecting James to come, there was no reason to suggest he would be early, as he never had been before. Lyra was not, however, planning on meeting with him today.

She put one foot in front of the other a few times and this was how she ended up in the library and passing her usual Thursday night table. Just because it was best that she and James discontinue their studying didn't mean she couldn't capitalize on the regular study time she was used to setting aside. With that in mind, she found herself a table in the back corner behind a particularly cluttered looking shelf, and faced the wall.

For a few minutes, her mind wandered to James and the other Gryffindor boys. She felt her cheeks grow hot as imagined what they must think of her. All she was to them was a mousy little tag-along to a fiery lioness. More likely, they didn't think of her at all. She shook her head to clear thought. She would channel all of the energy she was putting into analysing their motives into studying for her NEWTs… or at least into studying for her next in-class exams.

It was with this mind-set that she continued studying and lost herself in the essay she was writing for Potions. She lost herself, that is, until someone cleared his distinctly male throat behind her. _Anyone but James_ , Lyra thought.

She turned in her seat and found Remus Lupin standing with a sheepish grin on his face. He gestured to the seat on the side of the table adjacent to her. She studied his eyes for a moment, looking for any trace of insincerity, and when she came up empty, she nodded.

He sat gingerly and asked, "How are your studies going?"

She glanced at the clock in the corner of the room and saw that it was just past seven. He knew that she had been planning to stand up James – and had done – if he made an appearance. She was hidden in her alcove such that she could neither see the doors to the library, nor could she be seen by anyone who walked through them.

"How did you know I was back here?"

He smiled gently. "You ought to know better than to assume I spend my spare time in the same manner as my friends. Many of the books in here captivate a far greater portion of my interest than tracking down girls in hiding from their tutors."

"I'm not hiding!"

"I never said you were." His grin widened, and Lyra had the sudden impulse to dissolve it. He was on the opposing side.

"My apologies," she said. "You're right. I have learned better than to assume I hold anyone's interest as more than a stepping stone."

Remus' expression was now serious as he said, rather slowly and with care to enunciate every word. "Don't for a moment let yourself be convinced, especially by the voice in your own mind, that you're not worthy of respect."

She made to argue, but he continued.

"Sirius made a mistake. 'Mistake' being an extremely forgiving way to phrase the so-called mission he took upon himself." A pink tinge touched his cheek. "I won't claim innocence. I saw no problem acting as a link between James and Lily before they were able to start a conversation on their own, but had I known the lengths to which Sirius was going to keep you occupied, I never would have condoned it." He looked away from Lyra. "As though that makes me any less to blame."

She looked at him, past thin scars that lined his face and into the green eyes, full to the brim with guilt. She placed a hand lightly on his arm, which rested atop her Potions book.

"I don't blame you, Remus."

He stared at her. "You don't?"

She shook her head. "I can see you meant no harm. And after James' apology, there's only one person left whose morals I question… Unless Peter Pettigrew was the mastermind operating on a level above all of us."

"Yes, the real mastermind, indeed," Remus said, his expression softening. "Do you mind if I ask what James apologized for? It's not as though he did anything beyond wishing aloud that Lily would give him the time of day."

Lyra furrowed her brow. "He just said that he was sorry he had let things go as far as they did. He never said a thing about it not being his fault."

"That _is_ surprising," said Remus. "He's given Sirius a very hard time since finding out about everything. James didn't know a thing concerning what was happening, I'm sure of it."

"If he didn't know what was going on, then why would he apologize? Why would he shoulder the fault?"

"I wouldn't presume any underhanded tricks on his end. He understands that it was all for his benefit, even if he had no hand in orchestrating it. He feels downright awful." Remus leaned back in his chair, a pondering expression adorning his features. "Perhaps our James is growing up."

Lyra took that into consideration. She trusted Remus, and he trusted James. She was inclined to believe that Sirius was the one at the intentional heart of the whole thing. He also appeared to be the one who cared the least. _Here I go again thinking about him_ , she thought and turned her attention back to the abandoned parchment in front of her.

"I'd better get back to this," she told Remus.

"Oh!" he said, removing his arms from atop her possessions. "Of course… Are you rather certain you haven't come across any girls in need of tutoring?"

She was quiet for a few seconds. "I think I heard rumour that there might be one at a table just around the corner this time next week." She gave him a slight smile.

He nodded. "Understandable. Be sure to tell her that I hope her maturity and kind-heartedness continue to rub off on anyone she happens to meet while here." He stood and held out a hand.

Lyra shook it. "She'll appreciate the sentiment."

* * *

 **A/N: I've been completely caught up in exams and assignments lately, and I didn't want to sacrifice (too much) quality or quantity on this one. If it's any consolation, I feel incredibly guilty each time I think about how long I'm taking to post. Here's to hoping the writing isn't suffer exceptionally as a result of my recent sleep deprivation. As alway: review, follow, fave. xx S**


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